Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Of Two Kingdoms ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Of Two Kingdoms
By C. Selene Belyea


Van clutched the letter in his hand, trembling with growing fury as he read each word on the fine parchment. His eyes were narrowed darkly and beads of sweat formed on his brow. How could it come to this? He touched the seal of Asturia's crest on the letter he held, silently cursing King Aston for his greed before throwing the letter down onto the ground.
"Your majesty?" One of his advisors dared to ask. The young king was seated on his throne, his head of wild black hair facing downwards and his fists clenched together. The young and newly appointed royal Advisor that spoke just a second ago, Delucion, almost dared to speak again before he was interrupted by his elder. The older and wiser Advisor that resided on King Van de Fanel's right hand was Jadik Hajidask.
"My lord?" said Jadik in his grandfatherly voice, "What ill news does the Kingdom of Asturia send?" It was obvious that the king was not happy by what the letter had to say, that much was certain.
Van stood abruptly and declared to everyone standing in the room, "I wish to speak to my Advisories alone and uninterrupted. Jadik," He turned and faced the ancient looking man, "We will meet in my study. Gather the advisories to meet there as soon as possible." With that said, he left the throne room and made quick strides towards an unfrequented part of the castle.
As he walked down familiar halls, he had to marvel at the abilities his people really had. To rebuild an entire capital in two years was almost unthinkable. The castle design was nearly unchanged from the layout he remembers as a young boy. Suddenly, a furry little figure, another aspect of his childhood, ran up to him upon noticing his approach and quickly pounced. Before he knew it, he was lying on a cold stone floor, staring up at a fluff of pink hair and cat eyes.
"Van-sama!" Merle purred as she sat on top of him and characteristically licked his face.
"Merle! Let me up! Now!" Van snapped. He had no time for this. Merle quickly hopped off of his prone form, noting grudgingly the sharp tone to his voice. He stood, dusting off his clothing. He glanced toward Merle's face, seeing that his tone had somewhat hurt her feelings. Van sighed, "I'm sorry, Merle. But not now, okay?" With a ruffle of her hair, he set off for his study once again.

*********************

The door to the Schezar estate closed as softly as it had opened. The stablekeepers were taking care of the horse Allen had ridden home on, patting and rubbing its legs down after a hard ride. Usually he would not push his steed so hard but the news he carried was urgent and his sister need to know what was happening within the kingdom they called home.
"Brother!" Celena called from the lounging room where she had been quietly reading a book. She quickly entered the front hall where she could properly greet him. She walked up to him as he was removing his sword from his belt and touched his shoulder gently. "Allen, you're home early. What was the urgency of this pleasant surprise?"
Allen looked at her affectionately, his long hair falling idly over his face as he kissed her cheek in greeting. "Good evening, Celena."
Celena gladly accepted the kiss but was concerned in the fact that he delayed an answer to her question. Touching his face as she smiled up at him delicately, she cooed, "Will you not tell me why your return is so early this day?"
Allen turned to face his precious sister. She cared so much for him. The feeling was undeniably mutual but he wondered if she knew that. Taking her by the shoulders, he looked into her sapphire eyes. "Celena, we must talk."
His sister nodded understandingly, feeling that the issue was more serious than what she had hoped. "If we must talk, then perhaps we would be more comfortable in the study." She suggested. Allen agreed and led her down the hall towards a large study and closed the doors behind them. They moved to one side of the room, the only wall not lined with books. Instead there were two blue velvet covered chairs turned inwards towards each other with an endtable in-between. Allen sat down stiffly and Celena noticed this making her concern for the news that he beared rise to a disturbing level.
Celena reached out to touch Allen's knee. "Brother, please tell me the news you have. Why does it bother you so?" She absentmindedly pushed her long silvery hair back behind an ear. Allen smiled as he saw this, thinking to himself how nice it was to have someone around again.
"These are confusing times, Celena. You would think that we have learned and know how to better ourselves and our wild ways of war." He began. "The news I bear comes from Asturia's royal court. King Aston is demanding territory for the expansion of his kingdom. The only problem is that the territory belongs to Fanelia, even though there are no inhabitants."
Wide bright eyes stared at him, curious. "What does this mean, Allen? I don't understand why King Aston would even want to expand his kingdom. Does he not have enough land?" Her voice was rising with frustration.
"What it means is that if no one can convince him of some other means of going about this, we will go to war with Fanelia."
"War!?" The young girl shrieked, "Our ruler has lost his mind! And I refuse to be governed by a madman!"
Allen winced at her words, remembrances of things that were better left unremembered entering his mind.
Without wasting a second, Celena stood and towered over the seated form of her brother, waving her arms enthusiastically. "How can he be thinking this!? Fanelia is a peaceful kingdom and one of our allies! Someone has to do something! No one can just stand by and let this happen! No! I refuse! In fact, I'll go give King Aston a piece of my mind!" With that she began to march to the door, fuming. Were it not for Allen's quick reaction, Celena probably would have gotten out the door and banned from the country.
"Celena," said Allen, gripping her shoulders firmly, "you must listen to me. First, be rational. Second, I think I have an idea of how to avoid a war. But do not worry, sister. Things will be taken care of."
As her brother's grip loosened, her frame sagged a bit. She never got to do anything heroic or exciting. Instead she always stayed at home, wearing dresses, uncomfortable shoes and reading books. "Brother?" She asked, her gaze lifting to meet a pair of eyes the mirrored hers. "Do you think I could ever be a knight?"
The question took the young man aback. He would have laughed had his sister not been so sincere in her question. An understanding smile came to his lips and he gently touched his sister's fair skinned cheek. "You're still young, sweet Celena. 17 years old now. Almost a woman. I'm so very proud of you and how much you've grown up." He refrained from answering her question, automatically knowing the answer to it and hoping she wouldn't press the issue as he began to leave.
"Well?" She asked, standing where he had left her. He stood before the closed doors.
He did not face her but rather looked over his shoulder as he answered, "Girls are not accepted into the Knights Caeli." With that said, he painfully left the room to go up to his chambers.

*****************

"Your Majesty, what do you intend to do in this matter?" asked Jadik. Twelve Advisories sat at a long table in the King's study. Van was at the head with Jadik directly to his right. As the advisories had discussed different plans of action, Van fingered the pink crystal pendent that hung around his neck. He sought to find an answer to this outrageous demand from Asturia.
"I will travel to Asturia to discuss this with King Aston himself. No war will come of this petty matter. Territory is not something I believe should be fought over but negotiated." answered the young king.
"I admire your decision, your majesty," said Jadik, "and I agree with you. As your chief advisor, I will accompany his majesty to the capital of Asturia."
"Good," said Van, "we shall leave in the morning then. Also, I want our new samurai to join us in our journey."
Jadik furrowed his brow. Another Advisor spoke up and asked, "Denevive, my liege?"
Van nodded with a bit of a smirk on his face. "Yes, Denevive. I trust not only his advice but also his swordsmanship. If anything happens, I'm sure he could be a valuable asset to the trip."
A few protests arose from the dozen advisories, even Jadik, for they knew that Denevive was skilled at the sword. They also knew he hadn't had the experience of several other samurai that served Fanelia. But the protests soon died down.
"I declare this meeting dismissed. Thank you, gentlemen. Jadik," Van called, stopping the man from leaving with the rest of the men. "Please have my things prepared for tomorrow. We leave at dawn."
With a gracious bow, Jadik replied, "As you wish, your majesty." and left his king alone in the chamber.